I identify myself as an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) user. In fact, whoever interacts with me is also one because you are not voicing to me. It is not necessary that one must use a Communication book or the TOBII eye gaze system to do so.
This is a shoutout to the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), the Singapore chapter, for always accommodating my access needs. The ISAAC Singapore organizes their “AAC Also Can” sessions for AAC users, caregivers and professionals who work with these users so that users can hang out together.
Since Covid-19, the AAC Also Can sessions have been held virtually via video conferencing. For me to access the sessions, there is a notetaker who will be typing what is going on throughout via Google Docs. There is also another Google Doc for the breakout session.
For the AAC Also Can Hari Raya Edition in June, we were playing the Ketupat Bingo game. As it was an AAC-related session about Hari Raya Edition, the items were all about Hari Raya celebrations.
The ISAAC Singapore staff converted the Bingo card into an accessible Word version. The notetaker then re-converted the Word document into the second Google Doc where there were five lines for the Rows, five for the Columns and even two for the Diagonals. What I needed to do was then, to toggle between both Google Docs during the activity. In the main event where they will spin and call out the items and the other document where I could delete the matched items. When I could not delete the items for that line, I have Bingo.
I was lucky enough — I managed to mark a line through the Diagonals, and I won!
This is my winning card
This is a screenshot of the re-converted Bingo card.
Tan Siew Ling is fully Deafblind, having lost both her sight and hearing to the neurological condition Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). She carries a braille device, affectionately named "Little BI", wherever she goes. Her humour, love of wordplay and penchant for puns keep her friends on their toes. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and writing down her thoughts—often on a whim—which she occasionally shares on social media, much to the amusement of her readers. When she's not reading or writing, you'll likely find her swinging a 20kg kettlebell, throwing a 9kg slam ball, or powering through a pair of 15kg battle ropes. Nothing too strenuous. You can find out more about Siew Ling and her journey here.